One of the really cool parts of my day job at Feeding America is that I get to travel around the country to join, start, simplify, complicate, explicate, and otherwise advance some of the big conversations surrounding food, food access, hunger, and food systems. It’s really one of the favorite parts of my job.

I have been an Outpost Board Member since November of 2012 and would like to share some insights since walking into that board room six months ago.

But first let me step back a little. Last year when I was mulling over sending in nomination papers it occurred to me that perhaps being a board member was something I may not be qualified for. Looking back I was right to feel hesitant but wrong in my qualification assumption. It all comes down to a few things I have either learned or verified over the past half year.

Outpost board members engage in a vast number of activities related to the mission and values of Outpost Natural Foods. One great example happens to be the work of board director Suzanne Garr, whose involvement with the children of St. Mary Kevin, a school and orphanage in Uganda, Africa.

Last June, I had the good fortune to attend the Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA) annual meeting in Philadelphia. It may sound like a big yawn, but it isn’t. One of the more interesting events was the screening of the completed part of a film by Steve Alves entitled Food for Change: The Twin Cities Story. Steve is a member of the Franklin Community Co-op in Greenfield, MA, and decided to research and produce this film which highlights a colorful history of the cooperative movement in the US.

On Saturday, October 6, I had the pleasure of attending Harvest Day at Walnut Way, on 17th and North Avenue. The entire 2200 block of N. 17th Street was blocked off for the celebration, with a large sound truck on the north end, providing a stage and sound system for talk and music.

I recently had the opportunity to read a very interesting book on a possible cause of the obesity facing us today, “Wheat Belly,” by William Davis, MD. It is alleged by Dr. Davis that wheat is a primary underlying cause of much of our obesity as well as a myriad of other health issues plaguing us today. More precisely, it is a complex carbohydrate, Amylopectin A, that is the culprit that causes higher spikes in blood sugar than a candy bar, ice cream or even table sugar itself.

Many owners in the Outpost community, as well as in the general community, have given a great deal of thought to the issue of eating animal products, notably meat. For people who care, it is a subject layered with many dimensions: family tradition, spiritual beliefs, political/economic convictions, dietary needs, and consideration for the roles animals play in our lives

The inspiration I drew upon this week was a recipe we published from local chef Jan Kelly from the restaurant Meritage. We gave Jan a challenge of one ingredient that she needed to design a meal around, and that was kimchi. Jan of course even made the kimchi from scratch, so I figured, why don’t I try?